International
US, Mexico seek to revamp fight against drug cartels
AFP
The United States and Mexico on Friday vowed to overhaul their joint fight against drug cartels, during a visit by a high-level delegation including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said Mexico no longer wants helicopter gunships and other weapons to combat drug traffickers, urging the United States to invest in regional economic development instead.
On his first visit to Mexico as the top US diplomat, Blinken, accompanied by officials including US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, held a working breakfast with Lopez Obrador followed by the main security talks.
Lopez Obrador hailed a “new phase” in relations, reiterating an invitation to US President Joe Biden to visit Mexico.
Washington has indicated that it is ready to revamp a 13-year-old program called the Merida Initiative that provided US military firepower, technical support and security training.
“After 13 years of the Merida Initiative, it’s time for a comprehensive new approach to our security cooperation, one that will see us as equal partners in defining our shared priorities, tackle the root drivers of these challenges, like inequity, like corruption, and focus not only on strengthening law enforcement but also public health, the rule of law, inclusive economic opportunities,” Blinken said.
He said more needed to be done to disrupt arms trafficking, strengthen port and border security, dismantle the cartels’ financial systems, root out impunity, tackle human rights abuses and address public health issues such as addiction.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said it was time to say “goodbye to the Merida Initiative, welcome to the Bicentennial Agreement” — a reference to the Latin American country’s recent 200th independence anniversary.
The United States has given Mexico about $3 billion since 2008 for law enforcement training and equipment such as Black Hawk helicopters.
Lopez Obrador argues that investing in development projects in the region would help counter not only drug trafficking but also migrant flows — another major challenge facing the two countries.
Underscoring the magnitude of the crisis, Mexican authorities said Friday they had detained 652 undocumented migrants, more than half of them children, traveling toward the US border in refrigerated truck containers.
– Merida Initiative ‘dead’ –
Mexico will use the talks to push for steps to speed up extraditions between the two countries and reduce the flow of arms from the United States, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said this week.
In August, Mexico filed an unprecedented lawsuit against major US gunmakers in a Boston court over illegal cross-border arms flows that it blames for fueling drug-related violence.
Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 300,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.
Many experts believe the strategy of militarization has failed because it has resulted in the cartels being fragmented into smaller, more violent cells, while drugs continue to flood into the United States.
The new security framework will focus “not just on crime, but also on the underlying cause of crime,” a senior US administration official said.
“We’re going to be looking at ways we can increase joint efforts to decrease demand for narcotics,” he said.
The two countries would continue to pursue the cartels, including their laboratories and supply chains, the official said.
But the new strategy would put more emphasis on stopping flows of firearms and drug money from the United States to Mexico, in order to “deny revenue to these cartels,” he added.
Forging a new joint strategy will not be easy, said Michael Shifter, president of the US-based think-tank Inter-American Dialogue.
“The Merida Initiative is indeed dead,” he said.
“Mexico is expected to press for significant US assistance and investment in the southern part of the country, but with budget pressures and other priorities in Washington, US officials are unlikely to be receptive,” he said.
International
Heat wave puts more than 70 million Americans under alerts as temperatures near 46°C
More than 70 million people remained under heat alerts Monday as an intense heat wave continued across the southern United States, particularly Florida and states along the Mexican border, where temperatures and heat indexes could reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Several cities recorded or tied temperature records over the weekend and into Monday, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida; Laredo, Borger and Austin’s airport in Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee.
The NWS warned that the heat wave will continue affecting the southern and southeastern United States, with maximum temperatures expected to remain near 38°C to 40°C for several days. The heat index, which combines temperature and humidity to estimate how hot conditions feel, could reach 46°C.
The extreme heat is also spreading into the Southwest, where temperatures began rising again between Monday and Tuesday. Forecast highs in the region range from about 38°C to 43°C.
Heat alerts remain in effect across Nevada, Arizona and California, including areas in southern Arizona and California near the Mexican border, as authorities warn of the risks posed by prolonged extreme temperatures.
The NWS urged residents to limit outdoor activity, stay hydrated, ensure access to air conditioning or cooling centers, and check on vulnerable friends, neighbors and family members.
The United States is experiencing a summer marked by above-average temperatures and repeated heat waves. One of the most intense episodes occurred during the July 4 weekend, when extreme heat was blamed for roughly 30 deaths.
July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States since measurements began, with the average temperature across the contiguous country approaching 25°C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The combination of extreme heat and drought conditions has also fueled wildfires. Nearly 3 million hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, making it the largest area affected by wildfires in a decade.
International
Trump warns Iran over nuclear ambitions as U.S.-Iran ceasefire deadline passes
U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated Monday that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, as a 60-day deadline set under a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran expired without an agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East.
“The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way or under any circumstances, a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The memorandum, signed on June 17, called for an “immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts” as part of a broader negotiation process aimed at ending the conflict. However, the deadline expired Monday without a peace agreement, while both Washington and Tehran continued to maintain their respective positions.
The expiration is largely symbolic, as military clashes resumed during the 60-day period. The Strait of Hormuz also remains blocked, contributing to elevated global oil prices.
Trump escalated his rhetoric toward Tehran last Friday, saying he planned to declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory after defeating Iran.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, very soon I will essentially declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory,” Trump said during a political rally in Long Island, New York. He also claimed that the United States currently controls the passage of vessels through the strategic waterway.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington is preparing additional economic measures against Iran that he described as unprecedented.
“Stay tuned for new announcements next week because we are going to implement measures unlike anything ever seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country,” Bessent said.
The Treasury secretary indicated that the measures would form part of a broader “double hit” strategy that could also involve maintaining the blockade of Iranian ports.
International
Brazil’s Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro kick off election campaigns amid focus on crime
Public security took center stage Sunday as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro formally launched their election campaigns, positioning themselves as the leading rivals ahead of the October presidential vote.
Lula, who leads most opinion polls, kicked off his campaign at the Vila Euclides stadium in São Bernardo do Campo, in São Paulo state, while Bolsonaro held his event in Rio de Janeiro, a political stronghold of his family.
During his speech, Lula announced plans to create a new Ministry of Public Security aimed at strengthening coordination between the federal government and Brazil’s states in the fight against crime.
The president pledged a tougher strategy to reclaim territories controlled or influenced by criminal groups. The proposed ministry would help “share responsibilities with the states” and confront those who seek to control favelas and impoverished neighborhoods, Lula told supporters.
The initiative places public security at the heart of Lula’s campaign as he seeks another term in office amid persistent concerns over crime and organized criminal activity in Brazil.
Lula also used his first campaign speech to reinforce his position as a leading figure of Brazil’s left and to criticize his political opponents on the right.
“I will not allow the right to take power,” Lula said, accusing his opponents of having previously mocked children who died because they lacked access to medicine.
“I don’t know what future these people imagine for the Brazilian people,” he added.
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Brazil’s Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro kick off election campaigns amid focus on crime
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